The field of the invention is jewelry, more particularly jewelry which is adapted for wearing as attached adornments about the user""s head.
Jewelry articles which are used for adornment are commonly attached on or about the head area of the person using the jewelry. Traditionally, earrings have been a popular jewelry article of this type and are available in a wide variety of sizes, shapes and styles. However, one factor which influences the design of earring-style jewelry is that the size and weight of the jewelry are somewhat limited by the fact that the jewelry is directly attached to the user""s earlobe. Even when pierced-ear-style attachments are used, earrings which are either too heavy or large in size would both be uncomfortable and prone to being tugged on when contacting other objects. Another form of jewelry for use in the head area which has been used is known as xe2x80x9chair extensions.xe2x80x9d Hair-extension jewelry usually consists of an elongated decoration, such as a string of beads or other charms, or may even include additional strands of the user""s own hair. Usually, the wearer""s hair is braided using a technique known as xe2x80x9ccorn-rowingxe2x80x9d to form a tight, thin braid which is likewise called a xe2x80x9ccorn-rowxe2x80x9d braid. In order to attach the elongated decoration, the end of the corn row braid is fitted with an attachment point, and the elongated decoration is attached thereto. While hair extensions are a popular form of jewelry, they are somewhat limited in application, since the user is required to adopt a particular hair style and is required to perform a fairly time-consuming preparation. Further, the actual decorative part of the hair extension may extend well below the head and onto the user""s shoulders, and thus may not achieve the sought-after result when a decoration for the user""s head is desired.
Thus, the known forms of jewelry for use on or about the user""s head are each associated with various limiting factors. Further, since jewelry design also includes a component of artistic expression, a need exists for new and imaginative ways utilizing jewelry which overcomes the limitations of prior forms for using such jewelry.
A jewelry article according to the present invention is particularly adapted for use with an eyeglass frame.
The jewelry article includes a gripping member comprising a spring-biased clamp having jaws that may be opened against a force of the spring-biasing to receive the temple arm of the eyeglass frame and an attachment member extending downward from the spring-biased clamp. A decorative escutcheon is attached to the side of the spring-biased clamp to overlay the spring-bias clamp adjacent to the outside of the temple arm when the temple arm is received by the spring-biased clamp. At least one elongated decorative strand has a first end which is affixed to the attachment member of the spring-biased clamp and a second end which is free-hanging under gravity from the gripping where the gripping member and elongated decorative strand form a unitary jewelry article which is removably attached onto said single temple arm so as to depend therefrom as a single-sided extension of the eyeglass frame.
It is one object of the invention to provide secure support for relatively long decorative jewelry from an eyeglass frame.
It is another object of the invention to provide the decorative aspects of a hair extension without the need for the user to adopt a particular hairstyle or perform time-consuming preparation as is required for hair extensions.
It is another object of the invention to provide an attractive yet quick means of attaching such jewelry items to eyeglass frames such as may be provided by the clamp and escutcheon.
These objects, together with other objects and advantages, will be apparent from the following description in which reference is made to the accompanying drawings which form a part hereof. The full scope of the invention is not limited to such descriptions, but is set forth in the claims below.